Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1887-06-25
PLATFORM ECHOES.
John B. Coughs Last and Best Book.

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This new and splendidly illustrated
volume is the last book written by
the world-famous John B. Cough,
and was completed by him just pre-
vious to his death. Every one is ia
miliar with the story ofhis early life,
and Of his rescue from a drunkard's
grave, and how this once wretched
and despised sot became one of the
most famous men of u time. For
seven years he stood amid the hor-
rors of delirium tremens, an abject
slave to the bottle; and his condition
and wretched appearance were such
as to cause people to eXclaim, "There's
the man who has been in hell" The
rich and poor, the high, the low, the
learned and unlearned, have been
alike thrilled and moved by his burn
ing words. He swayed brilliant au-
diences of royalty and fashion; spoke
in State prisons, jails, poor-houses,
penitentiaries, reform schools, and
houses of correction to the deaf, and
dumb, and blind; to audiences COM
posed wholly of outcasts; and to audi
ences numbering thousands of chill
dren. At his feet more than ten mill
ion people sat and listenedin admira-
ton and wonder. In his library
may be seen a set oflarge volumes-a
far better memorial of his life and la
bors than any monument of marble
or bronze-containing the original
signatures of one hundred and fifty
thousand men and women who were
induced to sign the pledge through
his personal efforts. These names
many of them tear bedeweda and writ
ten with trembling hand-represent
stories of happiness and woe, of ruin
and remorse, of blighted hopes and
wasted lives, of battles fought and
victory won. To give some of these
thrilling histories; to depict scenes OF
JOY and sadness; to lift the curtain
on life's stage and show its TRACE
dy and comedy; and to draw civ
ing truths" from the lessons thus
taught, and bring them home to
every heart, is the prime object 81
this volume. 1t also contains. the
history of Mr.. Coughs life and career,
from the cradle to the grave, and the
story of his death told by Rev. DR..
Lyman Abbott, the eminent editor
and divine.
"Platform Echoes" is John B.
Cough in print. Stranger stories are
here told than romance ever dream
ed of, every one of them drawn from
real life by a master hand. In every
chapter he weaves in anecdote after
anecdote, incident after incident, sto
ry after story, and underneath then
all lie Living Truths, that stant
out as beacon lights. He plays upor
the readers feelings as with an en-
chanter's wand, at one time filling
his heart with gladneSs, at another
binding his eyes with tears. At hi!
bidding, hearts are melted, and stern
/ strong men, as well as sensitive WON
en-, weep tears of compassion, art
aroused to Indignation, or moved t.
uncomfortable laughter in spite o
every effort to contol their feelings
Its illustrations + the best WI
have ever seen. 1t contains twohun
dred and twenty-seven fine engrav
ings by the best artists and engraV
: ers in the world. Many of theseillus
trationS are "toO funny for anything
while Others depict w~retchedness ant
woe. Sixteen of these engraving
are full-page ones, and are magnifi
cent specimens of art. Two hundred
: and nine are text illustrations Their
are two fine steel-plate portraits. On
is from a life-size full length painting
4 showing Nj. Cough as he appeare'
: shortly after his rescue. The othe
is from a photograph taken just be
fore his death. All in all, it is on
e of the finest eve produced by tn
5 American press.
e We advise our readers to buy Plat
:. form Echoes at the first opportunity
/ They can, in our opinion, much be-
y ter afford to dispense with a doze
other books than not possess thi'
Once begun it will not willingly b
laid aside till the last page is finished
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